Australia's government has committed $AU100 million over the next four years to malaria prevention and treatment around the world.

The funding was announced by Australia's Foreign Minister, Bob Carr at the 'Malaria 2012: Saving Lives in the Asia Pacific' conference in Sydney this morning..

"Sixty-four percent of the population of the Asia Pacific are vulnerable to malaria," Senator Carr said.

"It stalks the land and we have got an opportunity to eliminate it."

He said that $AU14.5 million of the funding would go towards researching a new strain of drug-resistant malaria found in the Mekong Basin.

Funding gap

Another $AU20 million will go to providing treatments, mosquito nets and rapid diagnostic tests for Australia's close neighbours, including the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.

Recent research from Australia's Burnet Institute found these countries had some of the highest incidences of malaria, but were least able to deal with the disease.

Dr Jimmie Rodgers, the director-general of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, was at the conference and told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat program that many Pacific countries were increasingly struggling to fund malaria eradication initiatives.

He explained that in the last 20 years the incidences of malaria had been reduced from 500 per 1,000 head of population to less than 50 in Solomon Islands, and from 200 per 1,000 head of population to about 25 in Vanuatu.

"But the funding gap needs to be filled because if its not, there is a possibility that the gains made in these two countries will be stagnant or could actually be reversed," Dr Jimmie Rodgers warned.

Good example

The United Nations has praised Australia's announcement, saying its commitment to the global fight against malaria is exemplary.

"We have been so impressed by what we've seen over the last several days," Ray Chambers, the UN Secretary-General's special envoy for malaria, said.

"I think what we've started here with Australia's leadership we'll see be emulated throughout the rest of the world."